Featuring very accurate voice transcription and the ability to share messages via e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter, Naunce's dictation app is both fun to use and immensely helpful as long as you're connected to the Web.

Every person with a desk and computer has fantasized about a secretary who would take dictation, but the sad reality is that many worker bees may not have the opportunity to indulge in such wondrous actions. Fortunately, Nuance's Dragon Dictation iPad app can make your dreams come trueprovided that your iPad is connected to the Web via 3G or Wi-Fi.

Required Connection, Setup, and Interface
The first thing you need to do before attempting to use Dragon Dictation is to make sure that you're connected to the Internet as Nuance created its app to process your words in the cloud. In fact, you can't even access the app if you are not connectedtapping the icon launches the app, but everything is grayed out except the "No Internet Connection" popup that appears. Unfortunately, this means that this app is absolutely useless if you're in a dead zone.

When you connect via 3G or Wi-Fi, you'll be prompted to agree to an user licensing agreement, and then asked if you'll grant it permission to access the iPad's address book so that it can add the names there to its vocabulary. After I agreed to both, I arrived at Dragon Dictation's black, minimalist interface, which is highlighted by a silver and red button in the middle, and the words "Tap and Dictate" positioned directly overhead. To the upper left, a "Speak Here" icon appearsnudging you in a not too subtle way toward the iPad's micand then fades away. A small help icon appears in the lower right corner of the screen should you need assistance. Tapping dictate button begins the recording and voice transcription process.

Taking Dictation and Correcting Mistakes
The first thing you'll need to realize about the Dragon Dictation is that you'll get the most pleasurable experience when you speak naturally. When I began testing its transcription chops, I found myself speaking in one-line sentences instead of letting my thoughts flow.

Although I spoke with a near-robotic flow, I was impressed with Dragon Dictation's accuracy. "I am testing out a voice recognition application. Thank you." became "I am testing out the voice recognition application thank you." Dragon Dictation only flubbed one word, but after reading the transcription in "Notes", I noticed that the sentences lacked punctuation and capitalizationI needed to add the words "caps" and "period" in the appropriate places to add them to sentences. It sounds like an odd way to dictateand it is initiallybut I adjusted to it after a few minutes. In fact, I found that it helped me focus my thoughts on each sentence instead of rambling. Tapping the screen again stops the recording.

After realizing that Dragon Dictation did a stand up job of transcribing my words, I began to speak in long form. For the most part, it nailed every word that I spoke, but it tripped up on the word "Halloween" a few times by interpreting it as "how we". I had to really enunciate to get it to transcribe clearly. Unlike Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 ($99.99, 4 stars) there's no verbal command to delete words; I had to launch the iPad's virtual keyboard and make the corrections manually. In addition, the app works best if you insert a break in your speech every few seconds. Your speech is saved into a buffer, so if you speak too long without pause, it'll stop recording and start processing and transcribing. Once I realized that I had to take the occasional break, the dictation process went along smoothly.

Notes and Sharing Options
Tapping "Notes" (positioned in the upper-left corner of the interface) opens a drop-down menu that displays all of the recorded transcriptions along with the date and time they were made. Tapping a note opens it in an editor where you can add or subtract from the transcription using the virtual keyboard, or tapping the record button to begin dictating again. A trash icon lets you delete a file.

An option to the right of the trash icon let me e-mail the file to friends, and log into my social networking accounts (Facebook, Twitter) so I could share my dictated words with the world.

Should You Download Dragon Dictation?
If you can live with Dragon Diction's major flawrequiring an Internet connection to use the appyou'll find it an incredibly useful tool for quickly taking down ideas or even crafting messages for e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter, if you're not keen on the virtual keyboard.

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Automatic Renewal Program: Your subscription will continue without interruption for as long as you wish, unless
you instruct us otherwise. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of the term unless you authorize
cancellation. Each year, you'll receive a notice and you authorize that your credit/debit card will be charged the
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